Wyvern Express
by Red Warrior
Summary: He thought that if he had known it would lead to this, he would have fallen ill on purpose way earlier. HaarxJill


**I don't own them, they own me. I'm their toy. The things they make me write...**

**Wyvern Express**

"I think it's the only sunny day we're gonna have this week. No problem, since it's Sunday, except that I'm spending it WORKING!" Haar shouted over his shoulder as he cleaned his black wyvern, Ragnarok. The winged beast grunted softly in annoyance at the loud voice, scratching at his neck with his front claws. "No kidding. This was supposed to be our day off. A nice walk in the forest, picnic, a long nap under a tree, but no, this just wouldn't do. Someone just had to decide that we were just going to _waste _this perfect day."

"Stop moaning already, Haar," Jill said as she walked out of the small house that was both their home and their office. "There has been an unusually high amount of parcels and letters this week, and we still have some left. If we don't deliver them today, and if next week is just as bad as this one, we may be running late on our schedule. And we don't want that."

Haar rolled his eyes. "_You_ don't want that, you mean. You seem to care a whole lot more than I do, but still I'm the only one doing deliveries today, how strange."

The flame-haired young woman smiled as she leaned against the fence around the house. "Well, someone has to stay in case more customers show up. Besides, it's just a bag of letters, you won't die. I even sorted them out for you, it won't take too much time."

"How thoughtful," Haar snickered.

Well, it was true they had had a very long week. Haar swore that everybody in Talrega had chosen this specific week to send gifts, letters and cards all across the country. Did they all have relatives whose birthday was this week? They would never know, but they just couldn't refuse jobs, and Haar foolishly advised Jill to accept shippings and, since there were so many of them, to tell people to just write down where and who they were supposed to go to. Too bad he realized too late that some parcels were to be shipped all the way to Crimea - "when will these guys _get _that the deliveries don't extend to the other countries?" - and some others were so heavy that Ragnarok could only carry three in addition to Haar's weight. Any more and he couldn't take off.

This was the first time Haar had been pissed off since they had created the _Wyvern Express: the further, the faster, _and that was nearly a year ago. Ever since the end of the war, life had been good to him; their new Queen, Micaiah, put Talrega under Jill's care, which delighted the young woman but also scared her. She wasn't sure she could handle Talrega by herself, being so young and inexperienced, so Haar stayed by her side even though she never asked him. Once the land she was given began to prosper, she asked her old captain – who had long since shed his armor – if he would help her create a wyvern shipping company, just on the outskirts of Talrega.

Haar had said yes; what could he do, he was way too devoted to his late commander's daughter to refuse. He wasn't sure he would be able to leave her if he tried; at first, he thought it was deep fondness, and his respect for Shiharam which kept him near her, but lately, those reasons sounded more like lame excuses. She wasn't the young girl he had been assigned to watch over anymore, she had become a beautiful young woman, strong, and caring, and he would do anything – even if it meant skipping his early afternoon nap – to ensure that she was as happy as she could be.

They had bought this nice house just outside of Talrega because it had a shack which they could repair to serve as stables, for the wyverns. Ragnarok and Sherry, Jill's wyvern, seemed to like the place a lot; so much, in fact, that some time ago Sherry had laid an enormous egg, which Ragnarok fiercely kept guard on day in and day out whenever he wasn't working. It wouldn't be long until a baby wyvern would see the light of day.

The first floor of the house was the office; there, they dealt with customers and stored items to be shipped. Upstairs were the living quarters; a decently-sized living-room – which also was their dining-room – with a small fireplace, and a corridor which led to their rooms and a small bathroom. Their quarters weren't heavily furnished – Jill being a simple woman, and Haar, a lazy guy – but they were warm and welcoming. It was absolute heaven to collapse in an armchair in front of a roaring fire, barefoot, after a hard day of work, and chat with Jill until it was time to sleep. Sometimes, when it was cold, Jill would even snuggle up to him and he would wrap his arm around her shoulders, his chin on her head and her cheek on his chest. His heartbeat would increase; he would think for a few minutes to gather up some courage, but when eventually he would speak, she would be sound asleep. Haar could only smile and decide that he would tell her another time.

There had been another time. And another. And another after that. Still Haar never worked up the courage to tell her he might have feelings for her that weren't quite how friends should feel toward one another. She seemed happy, and he didn't want to disturb her happiness; he would never dare.

But damn. She was bossy.

"Promise we'll take next Sunday off, then?" he asked almost childishly.

"If you are back early tonight, I'll think about it." Jill laughed when he pouted. "And anyway you want to be here early tonight, I'm making chicken."

Haar's ears perked up, and so did Ragnarok's head. "Fried chicken?" he asked.

"Exactly."

Haar smiled and Ragnarok gave a cheerful roar; he had limited experience when it came to human vocabulary but he had managed to understand a few things: left, right, faster, and chicken. Whenever Jill cooked chicken, she made sure to give each wyvern two of the fried birds. Sherry liked it just as she liked any type of meat, but Ragnarok thoroughly adored it and would try to steal some from his mate if she hadn't finished her meal before him – which happened most of the time.

Unfortunately, both Jill and Haar loved chicken, and both tried to wolf down what was in their plate as fast as they could to help themselves to some more chicken. Once, they finished at the exact time and raced to the remaining chicken, fighting over the meat as fiercely as wild wyverns. They finally gave up and shared the chicken after some struggling, laughing all the way.

"Well I'd better not be late, otherwise I'm afraid I won't eat tonight," Haar grinned.

"I wouldn't let my favorite colleague starve," Jill gasped, feigning shock.

"I'm your only colleague, that's not really flattering."

Jill walked closer and Haar unconsciously held his breath. He relaxed when she only gave Ragnarok's muzzle a loving pat. "We're working with Ragnarok and Sherry, remember? I have three colleagues," she grinned.

"So now you're comparing me to wyverns? Nice."

Jill laughed and adjusted the collar of Haar's dark grey uniform. The one-eyed man smiled softly; she had grown a little, but she was still two heads shorter than him, though it suited her slender body well. If he had to kiss her she would have to stand on her tiptoes, and he would have to bend; speaking about it, now would be a perfect time for a sweet kiss and a heartfelt declaration...

Her hands were still on his collar when Haar leaned in gently; however before he could reach her lips, Jill turned her head and spotted a young blue-haired man on a horse who dismounted in front of the house. "Oh, another customer, maybe you'll be one parcel heavier today," she chuckled, letting go of his uniform to jog over to the man.

Haar just stood there dumbfounded, lips parted, unmoving. Darn that man, if he had just arrived five minutes later... The former warrior grumbled and grabbed his brush, furiously cleaning a snorting Ragnarok's scales. "You can laugh, you don't even have a love life, you mated with Sherry because she is the only wyvern around here, and you're the only male around here, she didn't have that much of a choice." Another mocking snort. "Yeah well we don't function that way, mister lizard."

Haar put his brush down when he judged that his mount's scales were clean enough, and walked around him to clean his teeth. In the corner of his good eye he could see the newcomer producing a small parcel from one of the bags tied to his saddle and give it to Jill, which accepted it with a smile. Boy, did she have a pretty smile, Haar mused as he absentmindedly rid Ragnarok's teeth of bits of food and dirt. Whenever she smiled, her eyes lit up and sparkled, as bright as shining stars, and just as soft as the petals of the roses that guy just gave her...

Wait a minute!

The young man had turned to his horse, and Haar had believed that he was going to get on the saddle and take his leave, but he had gotten on the other side of his steed, the one Haar couldn't see, and came back with a bouquet of red roses. He presented it to Jill, who blushed and said a few words. From where he stood, Haar couldn't catch what she was saying, but she finally took the bouquet and smelled the roses, flashing the man a dazzling smile.

What the... She had never smiled at him that way! What the hell was going on? He had to think of something, quickly... Haar acted before he thought and shoved his arm between Ragnarok's jaws, closing them with his free hand to make it look like the wyvern was chewing on his arm while it was harmlessly nestled between the fangs. When the ex-soldier was satisfied, he howled, as if in pain.

Jill and the young man jumped and turned to where Haar seemed to be struggling to free his appendage, grunting and shouting at his poor Ragnarok. Shiharam's daughter and her admirer ran over to him. "Haar, what happened, what's going on?" Jill asked feverishly, putting both the parcel and the bouquet on the ground to grab his shoulders.

"He's trying to eat my arm!" he roared, tugging at his trapped arm while maintaining the jaws closed with his other hand. "I... I can't feel my hand! Do something Jill!"

"I'll go get a healer!" the young man blurted out, frightened by the wyvern and not willing to see Haar's destroyed arm when it came back out. He ran to his horse and galloped away.

Jill tried to tug Haar's arm free and, when that failed, began slapping Ragnarok's muzzle to make him let go, Haar hissing all the while. "Let go! Ragnarok, you're a bad, bad boy! This is not a game, stop that!" Jill barked at the confused male wyvern.

Haar finally took pity on the beast and made a show of ripping his arm out of the powerful jaws, cradling it to his chest. Jill pushed on his shoulders and sat him down on the ground, crouching beside him while whispering words of comfort. "There, easy, I'm right here, calm down," she said softly, and her worried tone almost made Haar feel bad. But then she stroked his hair and his shoulders, and he changed his mind. "For Ashera's sake, Haar, what happened? What was that?"

"It... it was... it was...," Haar panted, and finally laughed. "It was a joke!" The wyvern rider let go of his unharmed arm and barked out a laugh.

Jill blinked. "You... what?"

"You should have seen your face!"

Haar thought that Jill was going to laugh too; however he was flabbergasted when she slapped him, hard. "You idiot! I believed you, I thought you were going to lose your arm!" she yelled at him. "What the hell were you thinking about, you stupid jerk!"

The brown-haired man tried to keep a smile on his face, even though he was utterly shocked. She had never really hit him, after all. "It was a joke, Jill, relax."

"This is not funny in the least bit, Haar! You could have been hurt, you had me scared to death! And you had Melvin worried."

"Melvin?" Haar's smile finally faded and he frowned. "That guy? Seriously... He doesn't even know me, he doesn't care."

"Well, you could have waited until after he was gone to make your stupid joke," Jill seethed as she picked up the flowers and the parcel which were still on the ground.

Haar snorted. "Don't tell me the conversation was _that _interesting..."

"Well maybe it was!" the young woman retorted angrily. "He was nice, and I was enjoying myself until someone interrupted us and made him go away!"

Jealousy and anger burned their way up to Haar's brain; what has that man done, aside from buying her flowers and sweet talking her for maybe ten minutes? Has he been watching over her for years, keeping her out of trouble, protecting her in battle, comforting her when her father died, loving her every day that Ashera made? No, he had been and still was the one doing all that! It wasn't like him to be that selfish, but then again, he acted seldom like his true self when it came to Jill.

"Fine, I won't bother you anymore today," Haar snarled as he grabbed the parcel from Jill and stuffed it into his traveling bag. He then tied the leather bag to the saddle on Ragnarok's back, between his wings, and hopped in place upon the wyvern's back. The reptile gave a surprised grunt but shook himself, and got ready to take off.

Jill lightly gnawed on her lower lip as she came to think that, maybe, just maybe, she had gone a bit too far. "You should grab a coat, northern Daein is really cold these days," she mumbled, pondering whether she should apologize or just yell at him some more.

"I'll be fine, and please, when _Melvin _comes back with a healer, if he comes back at all, tell him that the stupid jerk got better and won't be back until late tonight, so you two have the whole day to do whatever it is the two of you find oh so interesting." Haar had never talked to Jill with so much anger, not even when she had endangered her life in the Ashnard war, but then again, he had never felt so jealous either.

He didn't wait for a reply; he nudged Ragnarok forward, and the black beast spread his impressive wings, gave a powerful flap and was soon soaring above the ground, taking the frustrated axe-wielder with him, and leaving Jill on the ground, powerless.

* * *

Even though he had made every possible effort to slow down his trip, Haar was still home just after the sun had set, as the first stars began to light up the sky. He suspected Ragnarok was eager to return to his mate and his future offspring and flew faster than usual, but he couldn't blame him.

The former soldier took the saddle off of Ragnarok and watched as the male walked into the shack to nuzzle Sherry's neck and lie down next to her, curled around their egg. Haar smiled a bit and closed the door after bidding them a good night.

He walked over to the house and into the office. Everything w as neat, tidy, just the way Jill liked things to be. She couldn't stand it when he misplaced things, and she positively loathed it when he lost anything, even if it was a very unimportant item such as a rag to clean the windows. His Brave Axe and her Killer Axe were fixed to a wall behind a desk, untouched since the last war one year before, but a constant reminder of their past. Of what they had shared.

Haar began his ascent up the stairs; his anger had melted down somewhat since that morning, but he still felt a little irritated, and jealous. He pushed the door to their living quarters to see that a fire was still going in the fireplace and, to his surprise, Jill herself was curled up in his armchair with a cover, fast asleep. Her red hair was down and cascaded on the armchair and on her shoulders, while her bare feet poked out from under the cover. The rider's eyes moved over to the table; to his amazement, the chicken was there, untouched, and surrounded by two plates, two forks, two knives, and two glasses. All of them were still clean and seemed to be waiting for someone to come and use them.

_She waited for me, _Haar thought, silently taking off his boots. _And she didn't even touch the chicken. Maybe this means she feels bad or needed to talk to me. _A fond smile stretched on the Captain's tanned face as his spirits were lifted a bit and he stifled a yawn. _No, it's no time to doze off. Maybe I ought to wake her up for once, she's usually the one shaking me out of my naps. _

Carefully, Haar tiptoed over to the armchair as stealthily as his tall frame and good eye would allow him, and he leaned in to brush a kiss upon Jill's forehead. _This must so much more pleasant than waking up to poking and shouting. I hope she'll remember that next time she interrupts my afternoon nap. _However nice, his attempt didn't disturb Jill's sleep at all; if anything, she just snuggled further into the armchair, tightening the cover over herself. Haar chuckled softly and leaned in again, this time kissing her hair. Jill just moaned a bit and rolled over, turning her back to the Captain as she kept on snoozing.

"Wakey wakey, chicken's cooling," Haar whispered, lazily nuzzling her hair from behind with his nose. When he caught her slight sleepy smile, he grinned and leaned over her to kiss her cheek.

Jill gave a comfortable hum. "Melvin," she sighed in her light sleep.

Haar froze. _What the hell? Melvin, again? Damn it, he's not even here and he's pissing me off! I can't believe it! _His anger returning tenfold, Haar stood up as Jill finally woke up and yawned. Any day, he would have found it very cute, but he was so irritated that he didn't care in the slightest.

Jill looked up at him sleepily but her eyes seemed to light up when she recognized him. "Haar! I was worried something bad happened to you, I was expecting you to come back way earlier!" She took his hand, which was hanging lifelessly by his side, and squeezed it. "Your hands are frozen, you know as well as I that the winds can chill you to the bone this time of the year."

_Oh, don't you worry Jill. I'm burning inside. _

"m'fine," he managed to mumble dully. He wasn't about to say that anger and jealousy had kept him warm all the way, but Ashera, he certainly longed to. He extricated his hand from between Jill's warm ones and put it in front of his mouth, faking a yawn. "I'm going to bed, I'm almost sleepwalking right now."

Jill blinked; Haar wondered if she was going to buy it, for it looked like she was about to ask him something, but he was mistaken. "Won't you at least eat a bit? You should put something warm in your stomach after your trip," she tried, sitting up completely and letting the cover pool around her waist. She could sense something was wrong; was he still mad at her about that morning? If he was, it didn't sound like Haar at all, but either way something wasn't right. Haar would never skip a meal, all the more if there was chicken on the menu, unless he was ill. "You're not sick, are you?"

"I told you, I'm fine," her former Captain said, and there was bitterness in his voice. "I'm not hungry, I just want to sleep. What time do I have to be up tomorrow?"

Now this was even stranger. Haar almost never mentioned work, because his lazy mind thought that if he didn't ask, he could always blame Jill for not telling him that there were deliveries to be made. And to top it off, if Haar was really exhausted – as he made it seem that night – he would simply _forget _he was running a shipping company and just sleep. Jill would have questioned him, but the way he was watching her suggested that she would get no answer.

"Well, I think some villagers in Talrega are waiting for their letters to be picked up, and a trip to the market would be nice since we're running low on food," Jill told him softly. "I'll do it, so you can sleep in a bit. Do try to be up by noon, though, okay?"

Haar nodded dully, mumbled a "goodnight" and walked to his bedroom. His mood couldn't sink lower, and it had taken only one word to make it plummet. As he opened the door, he sighed and let his shoulders slump; he was a fool. How could he think, how could he imagine he had a chance? He was way too old for her - seven years weren't much, but still -, way too lazy, and way too ugly maybe. He closed the door silently and walked over to the window to close the curtains; reflected in the glass, his somber, scarred face was giving him a sorrowful one-eyed stare.

On impulse, he took off his eyepatch and deposited it on the windowsill. Haar then proceeded to examine his mutilated eye-socket, something he almost never did, for it reminded him of that terrible day when a crow pinned Ragnarok to the ground, slipped its beak into his helmet and ripped his eye out. He had been young, and caught unawares, and he had never felt such pain. He had felt such shame, lying there in a bloody and crying mess on a bed waiting for the healers, and Commander Shiharam sitting by his side. Since then, the flesh and skin had healed, leaving only an angry scar behind, but the shame remained.

_Jill deserves better than this, _Haar thought grimly as he looked at himself, at the large but short scar digging into the side of his skull, and the other, smaller white scars adorning his chin. _She deserves someone younger than me, someone she can build a happy future with. That's not me. _

Haar sighed and finally closed the curtains and turned around. His bare feet met the soft surface of the crimson carpet next to his bed; as lazy as ever, Haar wouldn't even have furnished the room in the first place if he had been given a choice. He would have just put a bed in a corner and been done with it; unfortunately, or thankfully, in addition to the bed Jill had forced him to chose a small wardrobe to hang his clothes, a chest to store his things and a nightstand. She had even bought a red carpet, because it was nice, it brought a little color to the room, and "that way you'll stop whining about the cold floor."

The wyvern knight came to stand on the carpet and unbuckled the belt that kept his uniform in place. It was a long-sleeved and a little high-collared dark gray shirt that reached his upper thighs, with a brown belt at the waist. It went with black pants and black boots to match. A small wyvern-like pattern was sewn on each sleeve. Jill had chosen the same type of clothing, except that the shirt was dark orange, the pants were cream-colored, and both were shaped to fit her slender curves.

Haar shook his head; he had to stop thinking about her, it would do him no good. After stripping down to his underwear – he loved to sleep with as little clothing as possible, and if laws and ethics weren't against him, he would nap outside naked, for Ashera's sake – he pulled the covers back and slipped in his bed. He almost purred when the soft material eased his back and relaxed his muscles; there was nothing more enjoyable than being nestled in your bed with warm covers and a soft pillow. Well, actually, maybe there was something better, and that would be being nestled in your bed with warm covers, a soft pillow _and _a certain red-haired woman.

_I need some sleep._

_

* * *

_

Haar woke up to the warmth of the sun, the sound of a horse trotting on the path under his window, and a sickening feeling of nausea. He scrambled out of bed as fast as he could and ran to a bowl he kept in case he needed water to clean his axes or his armor. As he had just had breakfast the previous day, he threw up some bile but it was mostly dry heaves that shook his frame.

When he felt it was over, he fell onto his side, panting. _Now, I've never been awoken this way, _he thought sarcastically. _I think I'd rather be yelled at. _

He stayed unmoving for a few minutes, just recovering, and trying to assess what time it was. From the way the sun shone through his curtains, it was mid-morning. Strange; mid-morning in Daein wasn't supposed to be so hot, that time of the year. Haar struggled to sit up and ran a hand across his face; that's when he noticed just how hot his skin felt. _Fever. Great. Jill is going to have a field day lecturing me on the importance of warm clothing during long trips, _he sighed inwardly. _Hopefully, she's gone to the market._

He grabbed the edge of the windowsill to stand up, and that's when the room began to spin around him. Haar stumbled over to his bed and collapsed on the mattress with a grunt of pain; his head felt like it was going to blow. He had never felt so ill before. He sat up slowly and, when he convinced himself that the ground was certainly _not _going to collapse under his feet, he dressed carefully. He had some trouble with his sleeves, and bending over to catch his belt and eyepatch on the floor was torture, but eventually he was ready.

He could hole himself up in his room and pretend he was asleep, but he knew Jill would come for him. He figured he would look less suspicious if he was outside doing some chores; at any rate, some fresh air would at least do him some good.

The mere thought of food was enough to make his stomach churn, so he decided to skip breakfast and, with the help of the wall, slipped his boots on and walked downstairs. Ignoring the office, he willed himself to walk properly and took twice the time it usually took him to walk to the stables. He wordlessly greeted both wyverns; the two over sized lizards were cuddling in a corner of the shack, watching over their offspring as usual. Haar gathered some buckets to fill the wyverns' water trough and headed to the small well next to the shack to hoist up some water.

It usually took Haar about eight trips with two buckets, and half an hour, to fill the water trough completely; that day, forty minutes after he started, the trough was only half full, because he had to stop every five minutes to will the pounding ache in his skull away. When he filled his buckets for the fifth time, he couldn't take it anymore; he dipped his head into the cool water to tame the raging fever. Relief flooded through him, and the breath he released caused some bubbles to escape his mouth. Oxygen was so overrated, he could stay like this for hours...

A hand suddenly grabbed his collar from behind and pulled his head out of the water. Surprised, he swallowed a mouthful of water and choked on it, sending drops of water flying all around him.

"What is up with you, Haar?" a familiar voice asked tersely as the hand tightened on his collar and shook him a bit. This simple act caused him excruciating pain, and it took every ounce of willpower not to cry out.

"'Morning to you too, Jill," he said through clenched teeth, and faked a smile, looking up at her with his good eye between his soaked bangs. "I felt a little hot and, ah, thought a little water would help."

Jill shook her head and mercifully let go of his shirt, adjusting her hold on her grocery bag. "Sometimes I just don't understand you, you know?" she said, frowning. "Can't you just have a glass of water or something?"

"Oh. I guess... yes."

Talking hurt like hell. It felt like every word took on a solid shape and bounced around in his skull, crushing his brain. Even Jill's soft voice stung his ears and sent jolts of pain in his head.

"I bought eggs and potatoes for lunch, is that all right?" Jill asked, and her voice had taken on a gentler tone.

Haar winced as his stomach began to get worked up again at the mention of food, and he prayed Ashera he wasn't going to be sick again in front of Jill. "Yeah, yeah that's fine," he said quickly.

"Can you clean the stables while I sort receipts and fix up lunch?"

Haar nodded and was relieved when Jill addressed him a smile and disappeared into their home. Then, he came to the realization that he had just agreed to clean the _whole _shack before lunch. _Oh boy. I better get started right away, _Haar groaned inwardly, brushing his dripping hair back.

It wasn't until two hours later that Jill came back out of the house to fetch Haar. When she caught sight of him, he was leaning against the wall with a shovel in hand. _Lazy bum dozed off again, _she thought, amused. _Well, it's only fair, since he got up rather early, but __lunch is getting cold. I wonder how I could wake him with this shovel. _However, upon closer inspection, Jill noted that although his eye was closed, Haar was panting, and his cheeks looked a bit too red to be normal. Was he having a nightmare, there, standing against the wall? Well, knowing him, it would be no surprise.

Jill came to stand next to him and gently grabbed his shoulder to wake him. To her surprise, he wasn't sleeping, and his eye shot open to look at her. "Ah, Jill! Wasn't slacking, just a little break, is all," he faltered, leaving the much-needed support of the wall to stand shakily on his own.

"Haar, is everything all right?" Jill asked carefully, grabbing his bare forearm. She gasped when she felt how hot he was. "Haar! Did you fall asleep under the sun for too long?"

"No, I just... I mean... I can't, I just can't." The Captain stumbled back, letting the shovel fall onto the ground, and the dull sound of his body hitting the wall and slumping to the ground had the wyverns' heads raised in worry.

Jill was crouching by his side in a heartbeat. "Haar! What's going on?" He was panting again. Jill brushed his bangs back to feel his forehead. "Haar, you're burning up! Is that why you dipped your head into the bucket, earlier? When were you planning on telling me?"

"Didn't want to worry you," the man mumbled.

"Well, too bad mister, I'm worried now." Jill took his arm and with some effort heaved it around her shoulders, slipping her arm around his waist for support. "Can you stand up? I'll support your weight, we need to cool you off."

With a groan, Haar gathered whatever strength he had and pulled himself up with Jill's help. True to her word, she bore most of his weight as she helped him walk to the house. He was so hot against her frame, it was a wonder he wasn't melting; when he let his head fall in the crook of her shoulder and against her neck, she felt like flames were licking at her skin. Not knowing how much time she had left until he would lose consciousness and she would have to drag his entire weight, she sped up a little and soon had him up the stairs of the house. The sweet aroma of fried eggs filled the living quarters, but was ignored by the two wyvern riders. "Come on, Haar, just a little more, your room is right there," Jill whispered, trying to soothe him.

Finally, Jill managed to open the door and deposit her former Captain on his bed. He was drawing short, inaudible breaths, and he was sweating profusely. "Let's get you out of these clothes, first. Arms up" Jill said as she unbuckled his belt and painfully removed his shirt. She slipped his boots off and, after some degree of hesitation, she rid Haar of his pants as well. The man hurt too much to care if that was proper or not.

The foul stench of bile then reached Jill's nose, and she looked around a bit before her sight fell on the abandoned bowl by the window. "You fool of a man," she muttered, not bitterly, but sadly, and she leaned in to kiss Haar's burning forehead. "I'm going to get some water, I'll be back in a sec." She got up and grabbed the bowl, bringing it out of the room.

Shame. Again. And this time, his Commander's daughter was the witness. He hated to feel so helpless, so powerless, and he'd much rather be alone until he was better than have to put on so pathetic a show.

Jill came back soon, with a bowl of water and a few rags. "Are you hungry? Or do you want to wait a bit?" she asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed, near his waist, and his grateful nod said everything. "All right, try to relax." She waited until his breathing calmed down a bit and dipped a rag in the bowl, wringing it out, before rubbing it gently over his chest. The cool cloth was heaven, pure heaven on his burning skin, and Haar released a sigh of relief. He almost dozed off when Jill wet the rag again and ran it down his belly, along his thighs and up his chest again; but when she tried to take his eyepatch off, his hand shot up on impulse and grabbed her wrist. "No," he muttered. "Leave it."

"Haar, it's better if I have access to your entire face, now don't be a child and let me take it off," she insisted gently, but he shook his head. "Please... I've seen it before, it's okay, I don't care."

Haar was about to refuse again, but he knew that in the end, she would have her way, so he gave up and let go of her wrist. Jill gently removed the piece of leather; if she was in any way disgusted or reluctant, she never showed it. "There, I'm putting it on the nightstand, you don't need it right now," she told him. Then she ran the wet rag across his tanned face, soothing the skin, brushing his brown hair back, caressing his cheeks. Haar closed his eye and just let her do whatever she wanted to him, and his last thought before nodding off was that, no matter how badly he had woken up, this was one hell of a way to fall asleep.

* * *

When Haar woke up for the second time that day, his head wasn't killing him as much as it had in the morning. He opened his eye, and could see nothing. _What? Is it night already? No... I can hear birds outside. Ashera, did I go blind, just from this fever? _Haar had almost never been sick before, for all he knew, that could be possible!

The wyvern rider began to hyperventilate, panic rising in his heart. How would he live? He would never fly again! He couldn't work anymore!

"Haar, are you awake?"

_Jill! _"Jill! Jill, I can't see anything!" he rasped out in the general direction the voice came from. "I've gone blind, Jill! It must be the fever, I don't know how, but it... uh?" He stared dumbly at Jill, who held the dark rag she had just removed from his face and supported a soft smile.

"All better now?" she asked. Haar shut his mouth and just nodded. _Shame. Again. _"Do you want some more soup?"

"I didn't eat soup today," he said, and his hoarse voice seemed strange to his own ears.

"Yes you did, I made you eat some three hours ago," Jill said as she sat down on his bed. "You were half-asleep, I'm not surprised you don't remember."

_Three hours ago? _"What time is it?" Haar asked huskily.

"The sun just set, it's early evening," she informed him as she gently brushed some soft bangs out of his good eye, feeling his forehead. "I think your fever broke. Does your head still hurts?"

"Not much... nothing I can't handle."

"Do you think you can stand? I need to move you to my bedroom."

"I'm sure it won't be a..." Haar did a double take. "Move me where?"

Jill put a strand of fierce red hair behind her ear. "Your bed is soaked," she explained calmly. "Both because of the rags and your sweat. There's no way you can get a decent night's sleep in here, so I'm letting you have my bed tonight."

Haar shook his head. "What about you? Where will you sleep?" he asked raspily.

Jill shrugged. "It's just one night, I don't mind. And don't start arguing, my decision is made," she added with firmness when he opened his mouth to retort. "You would do the same for me."

Haar's reply withered and died on his lips before it could be shaped into words. Yes. He would do the same, and so much more, for her. He let her help him up, but he did scoff when she tried to get his legs into some loose pants, and slipped them on by himself. Jill worriedly took his arm and led her bare-chested partner out of his bedroom and into hers.

Jill's room, although not much more furnished than Haar's, was warm and welcoming. A dresser stood in a corner, with a mirror, and in another corner was the bed, with dark orange covers. There was a maroon carpet on the floor, next to the bed, and on the nightstand, beside a candlestick, stood a stuffed white wyvern. Haar almost laughed; he had won the toy at a funfair stand, once, and had given it to her because "it's white and I don't like white, it's girly", but in fact he had really wanted to give it to her as a present. He had no idea she kept it on display, and it made him feel warm for no reason.

"Lay down," the room's occupant said, lowering him down on the mattress. Haar stretched a bit on the bed while Jill tugged the covers up to cover his frame, and violently shivered. His bed had been still warm from his fever, but this bed was cold, and with his skin not burning anymore, he was freezing. "Is something the matter?"

"No, it's all right, thank you Jill," Haar said with a weak smile.

Jill frowned and crossed her arms. "I'm growing tired of this. I can _see _something is wrong, just tell me what it is, you stubborn man."

Haar sighed. Where had the sweet, shy girl gone? Must have stayed in Crimea. "I'm just a bit cold, I have to adjust to it, that's all," he grumbled, just as a powerful shiver shot down his spine. "Damn it."

Jill seemed to be in deep thoughts for a while, then she got up and made for the door. Haar thought she was going to leave, but she just opened the window to close the shutters – Haar had shutters too, he just deemed his curtains were enough to block light – and soon the only light in the room came from the candle on the nightstand.

"Could you turn around for a few seconds?" Jill asked, and her voice held a small hint of... shyness?

Haar thought she was going to change into her nightclothes before going to whatever spot she planned to spend the night in and obediently turned onto his side to face the wall. He rubbed his arms, trying to produce some warmth, to no avail; his hands were even colder than the rest of his body. He had suffered from a fever, and now that it was gone, it was an even greater pain. He absently heard as Jill unbuckled her belt and dropped her pants, and the rustling sound of clothes against skin, and decided that it was better if he didn't try to imagine what she looked like under her uniform.

He did, however, come to his senses when the mattress shifted. He looked over his shoulder and sure as Ike's hair was blue, Jill was sitting on the bed, clad in a sleeveless pale yellow nightgown that reached her knees. "What are you doing?" he asked, and he hoped he didn't look as stupid as he sounded.

"I'll sleep with you, it'll keep you warm," Jill replied firmly, but her cheeks held a faint tint of red. Before he could say anything about it, she moved over him, laying down between his body and the wall, and slipped under the covers. "There, if you need to get up, it'll be easier for you."

Haar nodded, but Jill wasn't done. She snuggled closer and draped one arm around his waist, nestling her cheek into the crook of his neck before she could change her mind. Haar was stunned; hadn't he wished the night prior that he could be granted a night in the same bed as Jill?

When the initial shock was over, the scarred man put the arm which shoulder Jill's head was resting upon around her, and his hand came to rest on her waist. Her skin was comfortingly warm against his cool frame, taming his shivers in a matter of minutes. Haar gratefully kissed her hair, and let his cheek rest against the top of her head. Without his consent, his free hand began to caress the arm Jill had wrapped around his waist, tracing invisible and meaningless patterns along the skin. He could feel how tense she was; goosebumps rose along her arm as his fingers brushed it, her embrace was stiff and even though he couldn't see her face, he could feel her blushing against his neck.

Haar felt he needed to say something to make her relax. "You know, I heard this whole warmth-sharing thing requires both participants to be shirtless," he casually suggested, and he grinned when she gave his chest a playful slap.

"You planned all this, you pervert," Jill accused, but she was smiling.

"I did not. You practically threw yourself at me, I see perfectly what you're aiming at," he joked. "What can I say, I'm just that good, it's not your fault you want me so bad."

"You wish!" Jill poked him in the ribs, but squealed when he poked her back. "Not fair! Can't you be ticklish for once?"

"I'm afraid it wouldn't be as funny." Haar mercilessly poked her ribs with one hand, holding her in place with the arm he had around her, and chuckled as she desperately searched for his weak spot. "You're wasting your time, this is useless."

Jill was leaning on her elbow; her face was red from laughing and struggling to push Haar's poking hand away. "Stop! You're supposed to be sick! This is not what sick people do!" Jill managed to say between bouts of laughter. In a desperate attempt to preserve her dignity, she grabbed the offending hand and pinned it to the mattress on the other side of Haar, so that she was leaning over him while still supporting her weight on her other elbow. "Gotcha!"

Haar struggled a bit, to no avail; she had him trapped. Both wyvern riders dissolved into amused chuckles, and as the game died down, they began to realize just how close they were. With each breath she took, Haar could feel Jill's chest pressing down on his own, and she definitely wasn't a young girl anymore. Her amethyst eyes were locked to his solitary plain brown one, hesitating, pondering, wondering, and Haar's heart pounded and screamed at him to do something, anything.

"Can I ask you something?" she voiced quietly, letting go of his wrist but never leaning away from him.

Butterflies flew around in his stomach, and he nodded before he even thought about it.

"Why were you so mad yesterday morning? I mean... when I brought Melvin up, you seemed just so... so upset. I've never seen you act this way, what was the matter?"

Haar turned his eye to stare at the window. This was it, another chance to tell Jill how he really felt. He could always say it was nothing, that he hadn't had enough sleep and was grumpy, or he could tell the truth.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Are you attracted to him?" he asked.

Jill blinked, confused. "What?"

"Melvin. Are you attracted to him?" The question had left his mouth before he could help it; there was no turning back now, the cat was out of the bag. "Please just answer, and tell me the truth."

Jill's eyes widened a little bit; was Haar... jealous? She couldn't believe it. A fond smile bloomed on her face at the thought. "Well, he _is _rather nice, and very handsome too," she began, and Haar's expression turned somber. "But it stops here. I'm not attracted to him in the sense that I would spend the rest of my life with him. I mean, he is a merchant, he hates danger and tough situations, he's no risk-taker, no, that wouldn't suit me at all. No, I think I'd rather be with someone who can understand me..."

Her free hand came to rest on his chest, and her fingers followed the line of the tanned muscles here, absentmindedly. Haar felt his heart rate increase a little.

"Someone who knows how to fight, who I've shared things with, someone I would love because he's always there when I need him to comfort me, or to cheer me up..."

"And where do you plan to look for such a man?" the Captain asked as casually as possible, although his heart was bouncing around in his chest.

"Oh, I don't know. I think I'll start around here, and then expand my researches. I think I'm gonna start with the simplest basis; say, my bed, for example..."

Haar gazed up at her with a lazy smile; that little she-devil. She enjoyed torturing him. "Well, then, if you just come a little closer, your bed has something to tell you," he whispered softly.

Jill smiled down at him and leaned in. Long strands of red hair came to pool on Haar's chest, and his arms encircled the young woman's waist, pulling her on top of him so she was straddling his waist. Her soft body seemed to fit Haar's frame perfectly, and he grinned when she put her hands on either side of his face and leaned her head toward his.

Their lips had hardly even brushed when a powerful roar from outside reached their ears. Jill's head shot up. "What was that?" she asked.

"Sounded like Ragnarok," Haar said, listening intently. When another roar shook the night, he frowned. "Yes, that's Ragnarok. Something is happening."

Their near-kiss forgotten, Jill rolled off of Haar and quickly slipped her boots on, not even bothering to change into more convenient clothes. The Captain had some trouble sitting up, and searched his shoes for a moment; with a growl, he remembered that they had been left in his room. _No time for that, we have to be quick_. He stood up with some trouble and shook his head when Jill came by his side to support him. "Forget it, just go ahead, I'll be right behind you," he told her.

His tone would suffer no protest, so Jill nodded, snatched the candle on the nightstand and walked out of the room. Haar followed as better as he could, but with his headache gone he had recovered some strength, and at the end of the stairs his bare feet had caught up to Jill. The young woman opened the door and soon they were outside, under the stars.

Another snarl was heard. "That's Sherry, now. It's coming from the stables," Jill said, but Haar was already running ahead. The rocks and gravel hurt the sole of his feet, and the lack of proper food had his head spinning a little, but it didn't matter to the ton of scenarios running through his mind; was someone trying to hurt their wyverns? Well, in that case, whoever it was had no idea what was in store for them, Haar thought furiously, grabbing a shovel from the tool rack near the shack. Jill pulled the door open just in time to let the charging rider through.

Haar screeched to a halt in the middle of the shack, throwing glances all around. Where was the rascal? He or she – or they – had to be hiding somewhere, the shack only had one exit, and he had just come through it. He gave the wyverns a quick look-over; nothing seemed to be off. In fact, both lizards seemed to be looking at him with bewilderment.

"You better come out now," Haar growled in the general direction of the haystacks. "You disturbed me at a very bad time, I'm pissed now. Come out now and I won't be too hard on you." No answer.

Haar growled again and was about to go investigate the hay when Jill grabbed his arm. "Haar! Look!"

The brown-haired man followed her gaze, and his eye widened. There, on a small pile of hay, the blue and white dragon egg was wiggling.

Haar abandoned his shovel and walked as close as the two wyverns would let him, Jill by his side. He sat down silently, his eye focused on the slowly cracking shell, and he barely registered when Jill sat next to him and hugged his upper arm. He instinctively let his hand rest on her knee, and a smile stretched its way on his lips.

Ten minutes of almost reverent silence followed, the faint sound of tiny bits of shell cracking the only noise to be heard, and the stars and Jill's candle the only light they had to witness the precious moment. Ragnarok wasn't roaring anymore; had he sought to warn them? Or was he just too shy, now that his master was here? Haar didn't know. The black wyvern was lying on his side against the wall, his tail draped over his mate's back, and he occasionally nuzzled her neck. Sherry had her forepaws resting on Ragnarok's left hind leg and her tail lovingly wrapped around the wiggling egg to prevent it from falling on the side.

Minutes later, though it could have been hours for all Haar knew, the shell was punctured, and through the small hole, a miniature muzzle poked out and smelt the air. Jill gasped softly, and tightened her hold on Haar's arm. "It's so tiny," she whispered, as if talking would spoil the moment. "Come out, baby. Just push a little harder, come out."

Haar chuckled. _I hope she will make sure to sound this serene when she gives birth. _

After some struggle, the top of the shell finally gave away and fell aside. Slowly, ever so slowly, little paws gripped the edge of the shell and a small head emerged from the remains of the egg. The head couldn't be bigger than Haar's fist, and the whole baby certainly wasn't as long as his arm, but this little creature, this new being softened Haar's heart the moment he heard its first squeak.

With some help from his parents, the baby wyvern stumbled out of its egg and onto the hay. Its under-developed wings were stuck to its back, and its tail seemed to wag without its consent as it got used to the outside world. Its mother licked its scales as its father nudged it up with his nose; because wyverns could walk the moment they hatched. And sure enough, the newborn soon stood on shaky short legs, trudging through the hay with weak squeaks.

When he noticed the baby was shivering, Haar picked up the candle Jill had brought with her and started a small fire with some hay and some dried wood. Light filled the shack, and Haar was finally able to see that the baby wyvern's scales were forest green, and small spikes were adorning the top of its head. A male.

"Thought about a boy's name?" he asked Jill after sitting down beside her again.

"Not really... but I think Febris may fit," she replied as she put her head on his shoulder, watching the lizard family with fondness. "It's the ancient word for "fever"."

"Why must you mock me so?" Haar chuckled when Jill stuck her tongue out at him, and finally nodded. "Febris it is, then. This way I'll remember how quickly I recovered from this fever every time I call him."

"No." Jill scooted closer to sit in Haar's lap, her arms around his neck. "This way, every time you call him, you'll remember you're supposed to _put on some damned clothes _before you leave for a flight." She smiled up at him. "I'm sure you don't want to be as ill as you were today again."

"Well, considering the way it ended up, I might be inclined to repeat the same mistake, you know."

Jill laughed softly and gladly welcomed Haar's kiss as the rider wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulling her against his battle-worn chest. As she ran her fingers through his mane of brown hair, he thought that if he had known it would lead to this, he would have fallen ill on purpose way earlier.

* * *

A week later, Haar was dozing under the shade of a big oak near the shack. There weren't many deliveries to be made, so he had decided he would leave the next day, and had played with Febris for two hours outside. But, as full of life as he was, the baby wyvern got tired very quickly and was glad to curl up on Haar's belly under the tree, and nap.

Febris' parents were out flying above the town; it was a wonder they trusted Haar and Jill enough to leave their beloved baby in their care, even if they were domesticated wyverns. "But who would ever harm you, you're so cute," Haar mumbled, his good eye closed as he stroked Febris' smooth back.

"My, Haar, I wasn't aware you even knew the word."

Haar smiled as he felt a presence sit down next to him. "Well, I reckon that this is weird, considering who I've been living with for the past year. That surely didn't teach what "cute" means."

"You jerk." She gave him a light slap on the shoulder, and Haar chuckled.

"Mind your mouth, there's a baby right here."

"Oh, I'm most certainly going to mind my mouth."

Haar felt lips press against his grin, and he gladly kissed back. When they parted, Jill leaned against his chest and stroked Febris' head. Haar opened his eye and saw a sea of red hair but, to his disappointment, an approaching horse. And with none other than Melvin on its back.

"Your favorite customer is coming this way," Haar joked, but he was annoyed already. The man had come several times that week just to speak to Jill. That didn't set well with Haar, but he had promised himself he would not go on a jealous strike again.

"Mhm mh," Jill hummed, snuggling deeper into Haar's chest.

"Well, aren't you going to see what he wants?"

"Oh, I'm sure he's just passing by."

Haar blinked and just watched. Melvin had a big smile on his face, and he slowed down his horse; but when he got close enough to realize that Jill had her head on Haar's shoulder and was intimately stroking his chest, his smile faltered. He nudged the horse forward again and just waved at them as he trotted by.

"See," Jill said as she waved back, "he was just passing by. Besides, I was just too comfortable to get up."

Haar chuckled good-heartedly and gave her a short kiss. "Care for a nap?" he asked.

"Hm, I guess I do have some time right now for a short nap." Jill settled comfortably against his sturdy frame and closed her eyes, one arm over his chest. Haar wrapped his own arm around her to caress her back. "Some peace and quiet once in a while can't hurt."

"Peace, quiet and sleep never hurt, Jill."

Shiharam's daughter mumbled something and was asleep within a few moments. Haar chuckled again. "Love you too, Jill."

He watched the two beings that were sleeping on him; he wasn't about to doze off, no, he had better things to do.

Loving Jill would just entice him to protect her more; his promise to Shiharam hadn't been broken. He would take care of his departed Commander's daughter with his life, just as he had been doing since her father's death. He wanted her to be happy, and it delighted him to know that she was happy by his side.

_And who knows, _Haar thought warmly as he watched the little wyvern cuddle up to Jill's hand, _we might one day give you a rider, Febris. _


End file.
